Hello, reader!
Guess who just had her best reading month (both in quantity and quality) in August?? Yup! This girl! Not only did I read a whopping 16 books (!!), but I read not one, not two, but four 5 star reads! Let’s take a moment to appreciate this because it won’t be happening again 😂 I have to give props to the Trope-ical Readathon and my competitive nature for bumping them numbers, lol. Though I didn’t finish all the books on my TBR, I read more prompts than I ever have before! After a kind of lackluster July, I’m happy that August really brought its A game. I read so many incredible books (and a couple of duds…) and found a couple of new favorites.
But enough chit-chat, let’s get to what I read in August!
Books Read
Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page
Book: The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: The Rivers of London readalong continues and, this time, I went with an audiobook! Which, I have to say, I really loved. The narrator was top-notch! This is a novella that I quite enjoyed, especially since we get to see a lot of Abigail. She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in this series.
Book: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Rating: ★★
Thoughts: This one hurt, I have to say. This was one of my favorite books when I was younger. The adventure! The love story! I remember falling for this book so hard. And then I re-read it with TWR book club and yiiiiikes. The fatphobia! The sexism! It was just… not it. Nostalgia is the main reason this got a two star instead of a one. I think I’ll just stick with the movie 😅
Book: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts: And then came my first five star read of the month! My goodness, this book was incredible! This is the first book in the Singing Hills Cycle and it completely captured my imagination. Nghi Vo has beautiful writing that pulls you into the story in the best way. I loved the cleric and their talking bird and I loved hearing Rabbit’s story. This book made me want to read everything Nghi Vo ever writes!
Book: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts: I’m beginning to think I have a thing for novellas because the second one I read for August was also five stars! I did love the other book I’ve read from Becky Chambers, though, so this isn’t that big of a surprise. I’m so glad this is going to be a series because I completely fell in love with Dex and Mosscap and I want to know about all of their adventures! Becky Chambers remains incredible at creating fantastic characters.
Book: Wicked Little Deeds by Kat Ellis
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: I read this book for a blog tour hosted by The Write Reads. This was actually my second Kat Ellis blog tour and, though I enjoyed the first book, I liked this one even more! It was fast-paced, twisty, and had that perfect hint of spookiness. I do love a thriller that has a “could it be paranormal?” flair. You can read my full review here!
Book: Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts: I finally read my most anticipated read of 2021 and I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint! This was such a perfect conclusion to an amazing duology. I loved the growth that Tarisai goes through in this book. It’s so genuine and rough and beautiful. I also loved seeing more of the world and more of the political machinations. I’m sad it’s over, but this was just perfection. You can read my full review here!
Book: Fireborn by Aisling Fowler
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: This was another The Write Reads blog tour read. I absolutely loved this middle grade fantasy that follows a young girl bent on revenge. It was fast-paced and had a lot of action, but it also took a hard look at grief and how it can affect someone. I loved seeing Twelve try to work through some really tough emotions. This was a great story and I’m excited to see where the series goes from here. You can read my full review here!
Book: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
Rating: ★★
Thoughts: Sigh… this was the oldest book on my Netgalley TBR, it was short, so I figured I would use it for the Trope-ical prompt to read a book in 24 hours. The most positive thing I can say is that the premise was incredible and I’m glad it’s over 😅 I don’t know if this is a translation issue or what, but this was just… not great. You can read my review on Goodreads.
Book: Changeling by Matt Wesolowski
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: I’ve been really enjoying the Six Stories series, but this was definitely my favorite so far. That ending! It was one of those endings that I had a moment earlier in my reading where I guessed what it was, but dismissed it because I thought it was too wild 😂 And, yet, Matt Wesolowski makes it work and I found myself reading with my jaw literally dropped. I’m excited to move on to the next one!
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Rating: ★★★★★
Thoughts: Why did I wait so long to read this book?! There were so many points while I was reading this book where I had to close the book because I needed A Moment. My heart couldn’t handle the sweetness and the angst and the beautiful found family thread. I would fight for any and all of the children (especially Chauncey!). And Arthur and Linus, omg 😭😭😭 I clearly can’t talk about this coherently yet. Just know that I absolutely adored it.
Book: Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: I read this book in one day and, this time, it was because I was completely hooked! I loved this thriller! I read this for another The Write Reads tour and I’m so glad that I joined. It was tense and engaging and kept you guessing throughout. It definitely makes me want to check out more of this author’s work. You can read my full review here!
Book: The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: I read this for another blog tour but, this time, it was hosted by Storytellers On Tour. This is the beginning of an epic fantasy series and it was an absolute blast! The world-building was incredible, the characters were great, and the action scenes were just *chef’s kiss* I’m so glad I got to read this for the tour and I can’t wait to read the next one! You can read my full review here.
Book: Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: This was such a fun middle grade read! If you’re looking for an adventurous read, you can’t go wrong with this one. I loved the Brightstorm twins and following them on their journey. I think the author does an excellent job of describing the world in a way that truly pulls you into the story. I read this with the Middle Grade Marvels group and I’m so glad that I did.
Book: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: I’ve decided that I enjoy Hercule Poirot novels more when our favorite, loveable idiot Captain Hastings is around 😂 This was a solid addition to the adventures of Poirot. I had a great time reading this and, once again, was surprised by the ending. I dunno… Christie has a way of writing her characters where everyone is suspicious! This was a quick, fun read and I’m happy I’ve got another Poirot mystery under my belt.
Book: The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: This was the team book for Team Mystery/Horror/Thriller and I’m so glad I picked it up! It was a quick and frightening read that I flew through. What I liked about this book was the commentary that went along with the horror. We’re following a young, gay Black boy who also happens to be a medium and it’s interesting to see his struggles with more than just the supernatural. I enjoyed the author’s writing, as well, so I’m looking forward to reading more from him!
Book: Malice by Heather Walter
Rating: ★★★★
Thoughts: And this was my final read of August! As retellings go, I thought this was fantastic. Can this just be the canon version of Sleeping Beauty? Cause it is in my brain now. I loved this sapphic take on the fairytale and the ending was incredible! I’m desperate to read the next book because I need to know how this ends.
Book of the Month
In a month where I not only read my most anticipated book of the year, but four 5 star reads, you would think that it would be hard to choose which book was my favorite of the month. But there’s only one winner that stands out in my mind. The Book of the Month for August is…
There’s so many reasons that this book was my favorite this month. The writing was incredible. The love story was so sweet it made me ache. And the found family element is, perhaps, the best I’ve read in a minute. This book made me so ridiculously happy and I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Reflections
Talk about a great reading month! Ignoring the two 2 star reads, August has to be one my best reading months of this entire year! I read so many incredible stories (four 5 stars is still boggling my mind) and I’m shocked I read sixteen books overall. I was just flying through a lot of the books I was reading and picking up a lot of books I’d been wanting to read for awhile. I’m hoping I can keep that momentum going into September!
I will say that I went a wee bit overboard with the tours, lol. Though I thoroughly enjoyed all the tour books I read, it was still a bit stressful making sure I squeezed them in with the rest of the books I wanted to read. Which is why I’ve stepped back a little in regards to tours for next month. I really need to find the right balance because I tend to overdo it for months and then crash and burn for a month or two 😅 I love doing tours, but I want to make sure that I’m putting my best into these tour posts! This little mini-break in September will hopefully help me recover from the hectic month that was August.
Speaking of September, I’m planning on taking it pretty easy. As I said, I don’t have many tours to do and, though I’m participating in the Magical Readathon, I only *technically* have to read two books for that and I only have seven books on my TBR. My kids start school this month, my birthday is this month, and the husband is going back to college this month, so my personal life is gonna be pretty busy. Seems a good month to not try and push myself too much when it comes to reading! Here’s hoping my reading this month turns out to be as high quality as it was in August.
How was your reading in August? Did you find a new favorite? Make any progress on some challenges? Let me know in the comments!
And, as always, happy reading!
Kerri McBookNerd 
You had a great selection through August there. I saw House on the Cereulean Sea all over the place last month and everyone seems to have really enjoyed it. I must get it off my TBR and into my read pile!
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It was so heartwarming! I think heartwarming and now I see The House in the Cerulean Sea, it was that great. I hope you get to read it soon!
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Thats an awesome reading month. I really enjoyed Kat Ellis new book too. Hopefully September is just as good 😊
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It really was! I’m hoping for the same thing 😊
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